Privacy Policy

Last updated April 2026

Bwalo is a social membership platform. We collect data only to run the community and communicate with members. We don't run ads. We don't sell your data. We don't share your information beyond what's strictly necessary to operate.

This policy covers what data we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and what your rights are.

What we collect and why

Account information

When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, and city. We use this to manage your account, send you event information, and personalise your experience. You can update or delete this information at any time from your profile or by emailing us.

RSVP and event data

We store which events you've RSVPd for so we can manage capacity, send reminders, and confirm your attendance with hosts. This data is only visible to you, Bwalo staff, and the host of the specific event.

Payment data

We record when a payment was made, the amount, and whether it succeeded. We do not store card numbers, mobile money PINs, or any payment credentials - all payment processing is handled by DPO Group on their secure servers. We store a transaction reference so we can confirm your membership status.

Server logs

Like any web service, our servers log requests - including IP addresses, timestamps, and which pages were accessed. We retain these for up to 90 days for security and debugging purposes. We do not use third-party analytics trackers (no Google Analytics, no Meta Pixel).

How we use your data

To create and manage your Bwalo account.
To process RSVP reservations and manage event capacity.
To send transactional emails: RSVP confirmations, event reminders, waitlist notifications, and membership receipts. These are essential communications and are not optional while your account is active.
To process your membership payment through DPO Group.
To send optional marketing emails about upcoming events in your city. You can opt out at any time from the unsubscribe link in any email or from your profile settings.
To investigate and respond to safety reports or code of conduct violations.

We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling. We do not use it to serve advertisements. We do not use it to train AI models.

Who we share it with

We only share your data with the third-party services required to operate Bwalo:

Supabase - authentication only. Session and login data is handled by Supabase. Your profile and activity data is stored on our Heroku Postgres database.
Resend - transactional and marketing email delivery.
DPO Group - payment processing. They receive your name and email to generate a payment link. They operate under their own privacy policy.

We do not share your data with event partners, venue operators, or other Bwalo members beyond your first name being visible to people at the same event.

Data retention

We keep your account data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we remove your personal data within 30 days, except where retention is required by law (for example, financial transaction records, which we keep for 7 years per Zambian tax regulations).

RSVP records are retained for 12 months after the event date before being anonymised.

Your rights

You have the right to:

Access - request a copy of all personal data we hold about you.
Correction - request that inaccurate data be corrected.
Deletion - request that your account and associated data be deleted, subject to our retention obligations above.
Portability - request your data in a machine-readable format.
Opt-out - unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, email hello@bwalo.co.zm. We will respond within 14 days.

Cookies

We use a single session cookie to keep you logged in. We don't use tracking cookies, advertising cookies, or third-party analytics cookies. No cookie consent banner required - because there's nothing to consent to.

Changes to this policy

If we make material changes to this policy, we'll notify active members by email at least 14 days before the changes take effect.

Contact

Questions or concerns about how we handle your data: hello@bwalo.co.zm